BOULDER — Colorado men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle calls Thursday night’s Pac-12 game (7 p.m., ESPN2) at top-ranked Arizona an opportunity “as big as it gets” for a Buffs team trying to show fans — and the NCAA Tournament selection committee — that it can compete at a high level despite the loss of standout point guard Spencer Dinwiddie for the season with a knee injury.

Arizona is 18-0, including 5-0 in the Pac-12. Colorado arrives 15-4 and 4-2 in conference play.

“What I see of Arizona is a great defensive team, a great rebounding team,” Boyle said. “And it’s a team that plays together offensively and a real talented one. They have great chemistry.

“With that being said, they’re beatable. I’m not saying that’s easy. The margin for error is pretty slim. We just have to go in there with the idea that we’re going to compete. We’re going to compete on the backboards. We’re going to make them shoot jump shots over our hands.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.